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Hide Social Media Slot Machines

Social media platforms are using the same techniques as gambling firms to create psychological dependencies and ingrain their products in the lives of their users, experts warn.

These methods are so effective they can activate similar mechanisms as cocaine in the brain, create psychological cravings and even invoke “phantom calls and notifications” where users sense the buzz of a smartphone, even when it isn’t really there.

“Facebook, Twitter and other companies use methods similar to the gambling industry to keep users on their sites,” said Natasha Schüll, the author of Addiction by Design, which reported how slot machines and other systems are designed to lock users into a cycle of addiction

‘Slot machine apps’ That’s how the app tries to become your boss — although maybe boss isn’t even a strong enough word. These are virtual drugs Barons, (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) are all allowed to pose as a respectable member of society.

Thankfully, you can configure all of your social media to eliminate the addictive elements.

• Move Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Periscope, LinkedIn and Tumblr into a folder on your second screen. These are addictions.

• Some people call this folder ‘Social’ or ‘Media’. I call mine Social Media Sphere. However may I should rename and thereby calling this folder Leisure so that one is being clear with oneself about when to open it.

• This setup goes a little bit deeper, though: hide your favorite social apps on the second screen of that folder.

Here’s what I mean. When your addictions are in the first screen of a folder, they’re still visibly calling out to you. Still bad:

Instead, move your apps to the second screen of that folder, so the first screen has just one app, the second screen has the rest.... smiles

This second-screen-of-folder-on-second-screen strategy requires that at least one app be visible. When you reach this decision I would recommend you choose LinkedIn. It’s the least addictive.

Mind you, you could just delete all your social media apps mischievous grins...